Rivers Casino Philadelphia, The Meadows reopen poker rooms in Pennsylvania

The poker rooms at Rivers Casino Philadelphia and The Meadows opened Friday in Pennsylvania after being closed since the March 15 property-wide shutdown to due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mount Airy and Mohegan Sun Pocono had opened their poker rooms earlier this month, on October 16.

Rivers Casino Philadelphia, which had reopened its casino gaming floor on July 17, will operate around-the-clock. The poker room can run up to 14 tables with a maximum capacity of approximately 100 guests. While Rivers Casino offers a variety of poker games, the action will be primarily No Limit Texas Hold’em cash games.

“Poker players are excited to be back at the tables, enjoying the game they love,” Peter Longi, assistant general manager at Rivers Casino Philadelphia, said in a press release. “Our reopening was carefully planned with the safety of our team and guests being the primary concern. We’re eager to welcome back our poker team.”

Rivers Casino Philadelphia said in a press release that it follows best practices from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and meets or exceeds all COVID-19 Casino Reopening Protocols issued by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB). Additionally, Rivers Casino adheres to all guidelines issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and meets all operating requirements set by the City of Philadelphia.

In addition to the existing casino-wide safety measures, the following precautions are in effect for the poker room:

• Masks must be worn at all times
• Poker dealers will wear both a mask and a face shield
• Each poker table in play will have plexiglass dividers, separating players and the dealer
• A maximum of seven players allowed per table
• Frequent and thorough cleaning of all cards, chips and surfaces
• Only sanitized chips bought from the poker room cage will be used in play
• No food, beverage or smoking is permitted in the poker room or anywhere on the Rivers Casino gaming floor

The indoor air quality in the poker room was enhanced as part of the recent upgrade to the casino’s HVAC system. Rivers Casino now includes a patented technology that continuously disinfects indoor air and eliminates coronavirus on surfaces, and it also features an indoor air quality purification system that has been proven to neutralize coronavirus by more than 99.9%. 

To assist with social distancing, players are encouraged to call the poker room at 215-717-3883 to put their name on the waiting list. Guests can also check the Bravo Poker Live online or the website’s mobile app for the Rivers Casino poker room up-to-the-minute game status.